The "most beautiful highway" is newly launched, and visitors can "check in" at the picturesque Three Gorges along the route

Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Transport and other six departments jointly released the first batch of "Top Ten Cases" and 36 typical cases of integrated development of transportation and tourism. The transportation, tourism and study corridor of the section of National Highway 348 from Yichang City to the Three Gorges Dam Area (hereinafter referred to as G348 Three Gorges Highway), which was assisted by the Three Gorges Group, was selected into the list of typical cases.

G348 Three Gorges Highway starts from Ganghong Road, Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province, and ends at the north bank bridgehead of Xiling Yangtze River Bridge. Along the way, it connects the core scenic spots of "two dams and one gorge" such as the Three Gorges Project of the Yangtze River, Xiling Gorge, Sanyou Cave, and Three Gorges People. It is 39.6 kilometers long with an asphalt concrete pavement structure and is a typical mountainous and hilly highway.

Before the Three Gorges Highway was opened to traffic, the G348 Three Gorges Highway was the only land route into the Three Gorges Dam area. It was built in early 1970 and has been rebuilt many times, but many of the horizontal curve radii and longitudinal slopes along the route exceeded the standard, and most of the road sections did not meet the standards of a secondary highway. With the increasing local economic activities, traffic pressure is increasing day by day, and reconstruction is urgently needed.

Starting from 2021, the Three Gorges Group will participate in the construction of the G348 Three Gorges Highway. This construction mainly renovates some sections with low horizontal and vertical indicators according to the standards of a second-class highway, including: adding asphalt surface to the entire road surface, building the Liantuo No. 1 Bridge and Liantuo No. 2 Bridge, renovating and widening the old bridge, adding new highway service facilities, building new greenways and node greening, improving the drainage system, and improving security facilities such as signs and markings.

During the renovation process, all parties involved in the construction organically combined highway construction with ecological protection, natural scenery, geological science and characteristic tourism to create a unique Three Gorges tourism corridor, a fast-entry and slow-travel science corridor, and a harmonious ecological protection barrier. On July 10 this year, the pavement engineering of G348 Three Gorges Highway was completed and the main line was opened to traffic.

99 geological science spots have been built along the G348 Three Gorges Highway, mainly including geological evolution axis, biological evolution axis, etc. Nine unique service areas and parking areas have been built between the gorges and rivers, including the Xiling Gorge Starry Sky Parking Area and the Liantuopan Service Area.

G348 Three Gorges Highway respects the natural foundation and beautiful mountain and water conditions of the masterpieces of nature, adheres to the principle of "highway as line, scenery as surface, bridges as points, atmosphere as meaning", and highlights the cultural shaping of "bridges with shape, trees with scenery, roads with quality, history with preservation, touch with feeling, exploration with wonder, and tour with taste". During the construction process, experts and professors from the China Geological Bureau and China University of Geosciences were invited to sample and identify 99 geological relic specimens along the route, including Huangling granite, Liantuo Group sandstone, and Shibantan biota, and then mark them. All specimens can be scanned to obtain Chinese and English explanations.

At the same time, the Yichang Transportation Department has also formed a volunteer explanation team for the G348 Three Gorges Highway, turning the 39-kilometer science corridor into an open-air walking geological classroom. The Three Gorges Group will also continue to write a new chapter of the Three Gorges where people and nature coexist harmoniously on this newly renovated "picturesque" road.